Antarctica’s first dinosaur fossil confirmed from 1985 Antarctic expedition

A bone collected by a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) geologist practically 40 years in the past has been formally described as the primary dinosaur fossil ever discovered on the Antarctic continent. 

The vertebra was found by Dr Mike Thomson, a BAS geologist, throughout a 1985 expedition to James Ross Island on the Antarctic Peninsula. The expedition’s intention was to map rock layers to assist future geologists and palaeontologists date fossil finds throughout the area. At the time, Thomson recorded it as a big reptile however it has solely now been formally recognized as belonging to a dinosaur. 

Finding the dinosaur bone in our assortment

Dr Mark Evans, palaeontologist and supervisor of the geological collections and labs at BAS, mentioned: “This fossil was found by Dr Mike Thomson, one of the true pioneers of Antarctic geology. His work helps us date all fossil finds across the Antarctic Peninsula today. When I first spotted this bone in our collections a few years ago, I suspected it was a dinosaur. After looking at it properly, I thought it was probably a titanosaur tail vertebra. Looking back at Mike’s notebooks, he knew it was a large reptile so it’s very special to confirm his find 40 years later.” 

The fossil has been recognized as belonging to the Titanosauria, the group that features the most important dinosaurs ever to stroll the Earth. They usually weigh greater than 15 tonnes. This particular person is nonetheless estimated at simply 6–7 metres in size. 

Spreading throughout the Southern continents

The vertebra was discovered within the Santa Marta Formation, a marine rock layer relationship to the Late Cretaceous round 82 million years in the past. It is the one dinosaur fossil from Antarctica to come back from this formation. Scientists imagine the animal seemingly floated out to sea after demise earlier than finally being buried and fossilised on the seabed. The discovery provides an necessary piece to the puzzle of how dinosaurs unfold throughout the southern continents.

Professor Paul Barrett, Merit Researcher on the Natural History Museum, London, mentioned: “The find sheds further light on how dinosaurs spread across the southern continents. To date no titanosaurs have been found in Australia and there is only limited evidence of them in New Zealand. Confirmation of the presence of these animals in Antarctica makes it seem likely that they travelled on to these areas which were connected.” 

At the time this animal lived, Antarctica would have been lined in lush temperate forest, warmed by heavy volcanic exercise that pumped CO₂ into the ambiance. It was a really completely different surroundings from the frozen continent BAS scientists discover immediately. 

Antarctica nonetheless holds the sparsest dinosaur file of any continent owing to its in depth ice cowl however researchers imagine there may be far more to be discovered. As ice retreats, additional proof of this historical biodiversity could but emerge. 

The paper, A titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Antarctica, is revealed within the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 

Antarctica’s first dinosaur fossil rediscovered after 40 years | British Antarctic Survey